Touring the Counties Part Two

For my second loop I wanted to stretch my legs a little more.  This time around I was going to start in South Stormont but move to North Dundas, then swing back east to check out North Stormont, then back to South Stormont again.  My other reason for setting this loop up was to get another metric century in; it's been entirely too long since my last attempt!

I always like routes to start with a place that has adequate parking.  For this particular route a good start place is the Long Sault Parkway on the Ingleside end.  There's lots of parking available; if you'd prefer a slightly longer route, you can always park at the Long Sault end and kick things off with a ride on the Parkway.

Gallingertown

From Ingleside I headed north to Osnabruck Centre and then westwards on County Road 18.  The 18 is what I like to call a variable road.  It can be smooth asphalt with paved shoulders, and switch right over to shoulder-less "chip and seal" road, complete with an annoying dent every 5 meters.  You know, the kind of jolt that makes you feel like your entire skeleton just got hit with a jarring blow.  Fortunately west of Osnabruck Centre it leans more on the smooth asphalt side and has a pretty decent paved shoulder.  Traffic is usually sparse and courteous when encountered.


The next village I encountered was Gallingertown.  I don't have a lot of history on this place but I know it was named after the Gallinger family that settled the area.  Unlike many stops I've had, Gallingertown has a very small sign designating it.  Not sure why, I feel like Harrison's Corners is smaller but has a large sign.

St George's Graveyard along CR18

I headed westbound along CR-18.  At some point the shoulder disappeared and the road became a bit rough.  But a few kilometers later the road became smooth and the paved shoulder re-appeared.  Shortly after that my turn to head northward appeared, a small road by the name of Beckstead.

Beckstead Road was a quiet little county lane I discovered last year when I did my first metric century.  There is no paved shoulder but very little traffic to speak of.  Sometimes the road is quite smooth and sometimes its a bit lumpy.  Sometimes the forest closes in close to make a natural tunnel of greenery.  At other times marshes swell on both sides of the road.  This time around though I was discovered something less than pleasant; two pieces of wood with nails facing upward.  They look as though they were placed to deliberately puncture car tires.  As soon as I saw this, I dismounted and removed them from the roadway.

Further on Beckstead Road curves 90 degrees until it ends at a T intersection on County Road 8.  I continued northward on CR-8.  This is another county road that is in great shape with a paved shoulder.  On the next T intersection I continued to head northward on County Road 7.  The bad news about the 7 is that it is a rough strip with a fair amount of traffic.  The good news, it's a short distance until it meets with County Road 43, then it becomes smooth and easy going for the rest of the ride into Chesterville.

Along the South Nation River in Chesterville

Chesterville has a very rich history.  The first settler in 1817 was George Hummel, a Loyalist.  Eventually it took on the name Armstrong's Mills, named after Thomas Armstrong, who operated the saw and grist mill.  When the post office opened in 1845 the settlement became known as the village of Winchester.  The name Chesterville was adopted after the local telegraph office opened in 1875; named after the first telegraph operator, Chester T Casselman.  The south Nation River cuts through the town, with both halves joined by a large concrete bridge.  Adjoining the bridge is a covered gazebo.  When I was coming through town, there was a farmer's market operating there, with fresh produce grown nearby.

Continuing northbound on CR-7 I expected to find another settlement called The Ninth.  I could find it on Google Maps and there are vague references to it online.  But when I approached the location of this settlement, all I could see was an old church building.  Nothing else but farmers fields and a dirt road intersecting CR-7.  No sign or anything.  So I headed further north, looking for something a bit less desolate.

Morewood was my next stop heading north on CR-7.  The town's name was selected in 1862 by Postmaster Alex McKay.  The Postmaster was given a list of names from the government and selected Morewood due to the settlement being surrounded by very dense forests.  While the forests have been replaced with farms, the name carries on.  That being said, there are a very healthy number of trees surrounding the beautiful century homes in town.  Turning east on Main street (aka County Road 13), I headed towards my next segment.

Now, 13 is considered an unlucky number.  But my ride on CR-13 had no problems at all.  In fact, you could say it was a breeze; I had a tailwind helping to propel me.  I took a brief heading north on CR-32 to check out Cannamore, home of Cannamore Orchard.  If you happen to be here around Halloween I recommend you check out the Spooky Wagon Ride.

Bridge crossing South Nation River in Crysler

I turned back to the intersection of CR-32 and CR-13 and headed east again on CR-13.  With both the wind at my back and a gradual down slope, I had a very easy ride to my next stop, Crysler in North Stormont.  Crysler was named after Militia Colonel John Crysler, one of the original settlers.  A concrete vehicular bridge, constructed in 1975, crosses the South Nation River.  Heading southbound on the main road through town, I stopped to check out a community garage sale before departing to my next stop, Berwick.

Southbound on County Road 12, just six short kilometers away, and I was in Berwick.  It was named after a village in Scotland where the early settlers came from.  Today it is the administrative center of North Stormont.  I took some time to stop in at the McIntosh Park Conservation Area, found at the intersection of County Road 12 (named Cockburn Street in Berwick) and County Road (named Union Street in Berwick).  The park was beautiful and well-maintained.  I stopped in at the large covered gazebo for a quick break.

After a few minutes of rest, I made my way eastbound along County Road 9 to a place named Lodi on my map.  Prior to planning this trip, I'd never heard of Lodi and I was curious about what was there.  While there is a gradal incline going towards Lodi, I had a good tail wind and didn't even notice it.

When I got to the end of County Road 9, where it ends in a T intersection with County Road 15.  Found... nothing.  There was trees and farm fields and that's it.  Not a trace of anything else..  So I headed southbound down County Road 15 aka Avonmore Road.

If roads were people, Avonmore Road would be my nemesis.  Hills are the hardest thing for a clydesdale weight cyclist to overcome.  Avonmore Road has a rolling road which has you either climbing up hills or panting while you coast down them.  I have a profile of the part of the road I was on below.  While I hate the road, this is where I practice all my hill climbing; powered by pain, sweat and a lot of choice curse words.

Eventually the Avonmore Road leads to Avonmore village -- bet you didn't see that coming!  After a short break induced by a passing train, I made my way onto the main street.  The settlement was originally named Hough's Corners after one of the original founders, John Hough.  John was a versatile fellow; he built the first sawmill, manufactured coffins and built houses.  He had several roles such as preacher, magistrate, blacksmith, doctor and shopkeeper.  The town's name became Hough's Mills, but when the post office was established in 1864, the town was renamed Avonmore (which means Great or Big River).  It is claimed that it was named after a river in Ireland but I have my own theory -- the town was named on April Fool's Day and the nearby Payne is a small stream.
 

 I headed out from the village, again southbound on Avonmore Road.  After about six kilometers I ran into a "Welcome to Northfield" sign.  It was founded as a very small settlement but today just seems to be a few residences along the road.  When rooting around for some history on the spot I saw a tavern application from 1879.  Unfortunately the tavern wasn't there any longer, so I headed further south.

I came down to Harrison's Corners, where Avonmore meets County Road 18, and headed westbound until I arrived at Osnabruck Centre, then south again on the 14 to Ingleside, then easterly on CR-2 back to the parking lot.  I already covered Harrison's Corners, Osnabruck Centre and Ingleside in Touring the Counties Part One.

End of the ride!

One of the first things I did when I got home was try to find more information about Northfield, Gallingertown, The Ninth and Lodi.  I managed to get very sparse details on the first two but virtually nothing on the latter two.  I've asked around but so far no one seems to know any details.  I'll keep looking and if I find anything, post it below as an update.

The ride itself was fantastic, it gave me a combination of beautiful countryside with a hungering for the history of the land.  I ended up clocking over 100km on the ride and in excess of 500 meters of elevation.  Roads were all paved, many had shoulders and very low traffic density.  If you are looking for a ride that combines some great visuals with a very safe ride, this is the tour for you!

Touring the Counties Part One

I had several distance goals this year and was looking for a way to build up to them.  I was hoping to get a few metric centuries in by the end of June, a 170km ride in July and a 200km ride in August.  When I started to plan my rides, I realized I had access to a lot of great riding right in the united counties where I live.

My simple planning exercise soon developed into another milestone for 2015.  I wanted to visit every town and village in my county and surrounding counties.  The more I thought about it, the more it made sense.  Not only were the counties beautiful, they were also varied; rolling farmland gave way to dense deciduous and coniferous forests.  Marshes, wetlands and bogs could be found everywhere in between.  Last but not least, most of the county roads were in great shape with paved shoulders.

I decided to kick things off in Ingleside, part of South Stormont township.  Ingleside (and neighbouring Long Sault) were planned from their inception, a rarity in Ontario.  When the Seaway was being created, ten villages would be flooded; these villages are now called the Lost Villages.  Ingleside accommodated residents from Aultsville, Farran's Point, Dickinson Landing, Santa Cruz,  Wales and Woodlands.  When trying to decide on a new name, the residents quarreled over what it should be, as they wanted to retain their original community names.  The reeve at the time, Thorold Lake, saw the name Ingleside on one of the houses and proposed it as the name of the new community, which was then accepted by council and residents.  The names of the former communities can be found on street names in Ingleside.

If you find yourself in Ingleside with an appetite, I highly recommend Butler's Restaurant.  If I was to describe their food in 4 words, those adjectives would be: Fresh, Homemade, Delicious, Amazing.  The staff are always friendly and helpful.  They carry my favourite beer on tap (Beau's Lug Tread).  Whether you are having fresh pasta (made, rolled and cut there) or you are a suicide wing fiend like myself, you will absolutely love it.

While County Road 2 provided a more direct route to where I was going, I can never resist the Long Sault Parkway.  Considered part of the waterfront trail, it connects several islands created by the Seaway.  The traffic is slower than County Road 2 and is more friendly to outdoor enthusiasts such as cyclists and runners.  One end is in Ingleside and the other end was my next stop, Long Sault.

When the Seaway was created, Long Sault accommodated residents from the former communities of Maple Grove, Milles Roches and Moulinette Mills.  These names live on as street names in Long Sault.  The town itself was named after rapids that existed in the area; they also disappeared when the Seaway was flooded.

My next stop was a tiny spot right next to Long Sault called Lakeview Heights.  The Lost Villages Museum can be found here, with some of the original buildings from the Lost Villages transplanted here.  But outside of that historical gem, Lakeview Heights seems to be a small, quiet, residential neighbourhood.

After going through some rollers on county roads I found myself at St Andrews West.  Why "West"?  Well, back in the 1700's when Ontario and Quebec were known as Upper and Lower Canada, there was a St Andrews in each territory.  So the one in Quebec was referred to as St Andrews East.  That place is now known as Saint-André-d'Argenteuil.  But for St Andrews West, the name stuck.

One of the most iconic things about St Andrews West is the beautiful Church found in the center of the village and the ancient cemetery across the street from it.  The church was built in 1860.  Predating that was the Parish Hall, also featured in the photo.  The Parish hall was built in 1801  and is one of the oldest stone structures in Ontario.  It was primarily used as a church but had been converted to be a hospital during the war of 1812.

Across from those structures is the Pioneer's graveyard, thought to be one of the oldest graveyards in Ontario.  It has been closed to burials since 1915.  This is the resting place of the explorer Simon Fraser, who charted most of British Columbia.

I headed further northeast to South Glengarry and found myself riding on a rolling road surrounded by pristine farmland.  On the corner of one of the farms was a sign that said "SHARE THE ROAD!"  While I appreciate the sentiment, I'm pretty sure it was in reference to farm equipment.  Still, share the road!

Following this route brought me to Martintown.  One of the original town's founders, Malcolm McMartin made a wooden grist mill here.  His son Alexander build the replacement stone grist mill here, which you can see just a slice of in the picture.  The McMartins also had a saw mill and a carding mill.  Originally called McMartin's Mills, this picturesque village on the banks of the South Raisin River used to be the main hub for the entire area.

Martintown is a beautiful place with a rich history.  The only bad thing I have to say about it is the road; it's like a re-enactment of the lunar surface.  I hope it gets re-paved soon!

I backtracked back to South Stormont, following the Raisin River and crossed north again, making my way to the tiny community of Sandfield Mills.  I didn't get a chance to stop and check out the little side streets but I noticed some stone ruins as I passed.  I haven't been able to find much history on this place so far.  What I can tell you is the area is quite beautiful and the chip'n'seal road going through is relatively smooth and bicycle friendly.

I changed my bearing west and arrived in the small community named Bonville.  Originally named McPhail's Corners, the town was renamed to Bonville circa 1892.  It's name is french for "good town" and I can't disagree with that assessment.  The main road still bears the name McPhail.  No paved shoulders but very little traffic.  Right at the corner of McPhail and Highway 138 is a beautiful brick house.  The house used to serve as a post office and general store; nowadays it is a private residence.  As I made my way onward I discovered that there is a Habitat For Humanity set up in Bonville.

Back out in the countryside I found myself on Myer's Road, which gave me a mix of forest, countryside and residences.  The road rolled along several hills and had very low traffic.  At the end of the road I hit County Road 15, aka Avonmore Road.

When it comes to hilly roads in Stormont, Avonmore Road is top shelf.  I'm positive a large chunk of my climbing muscles were birthed in the pain of going up hills on this particular road.  There were a few communities north of here, including the village that shares the name with the road.  But my time was running a bit short and I headed south instead.

Harrison's Corners was my next stop.  Literally four corners with a few buildings!  I believe Harrison's Corners got its name from one of it's earliest inhabitants, one Henry Harrison, who served in the War of 1812.  It was here I parted company with Avonmore Road and headed west on County Road 18.

Soon I sailed into Lunenburg, a place that gets its name from a district in Hanover, Germany, where many of the original Loyalists settlers came from.  Today at the four way stop the most prevalent feature is Crazy Dan's.  It appears to be a car dealership, corner store, combo ice cream stand & fast food, and a garage.  I don't know where he got the name, but I feel like Dan is crazy about being an entrepreneur.

Heading further west along County Road 18 brought me to my last stop in Osnabruck Centre.  Like Lunenberg it was named after a town and province in Hanover, Germany.  When entering Osnabruck Centre, County Road 18 continues north at the intersection.  At that point you can see a large brick building on the right hand side which used to be the original general store and post office.

Not bad for my first go!  Not only did I get to see some beautiful places and get a decent 70km on my bike, I'm getting to know the history behind the area.  It really does add to the experience.

I'm already looking forward to my next tour of the counties!

My First Group Ride

I've been a notorious loner for most of my cycling exploits.  Sometimes it's due to prevailing weather; I still haven't found someone willing to go biking with me in the winter time.  Sometimes it's due to distance; outside of perhaps 2 people, most people I know are casual cyclists that can't fathom riding further than 10 or 15 km in a go.

This year, in an attempt to try a group ride and meet like-minded individuals, I went looking for a cycling club.  There's none very local to me, but I was able to find one in a neighbouring city.  They offered to host me on a couple of development group rides without a membership.  That way I could see if it was for me, without having to pony up any member dues.

I showed up for my first group ride early by over an hour.  I had intended on being early by 30 minutes but the departure time wasn't exactly what was scheduled.  It gave me a lot of time to observe others showing up and what sort of gear they had.  It looked like everyone had road bikes with clipless pedals and shoes.  Some people were talking about how to save weight on their bikes.  Needless to say my bicycle rack stuck out like a sore thumb.

One of the first things I learned was the use of hand signals.  A finger was handy to point out hazards like potholes while several wriggling fingers could be used to describe an area with gravel or loose rock.  A pointed finger moving back and forth behind a rider warns of an upcoming railway crossing.  The real trick is being fast on the timing.  After all, if you don't warn the person behind you about the pothole, they'll hit it, and so will everyone behind them.

I also learned a bit of rural road protocol when it came to cycling.  Anytime there was no shoulder, we would ride in single file.  If there was a spacious paved shoulder, we're ride two by two.  Cars were pretty good about giving us space or waiting until safe to pass.

When I heard the paceline was going to be about 25km/h, I figured it would be easy to keep up.  My average speed on many rides is like that.  I didn't take into account that my average speed was made up of slow uphills and fast downhills.  Maintaining close to that pace uphills left me pretty winded.  It felt weird to ride my brakes downhill instead of blasting away.

Speaking of brakes, I probably used my brakes more in that one ride then I ever had by myself.  Usually when I'm solo, stop signs are few and far between.  In a group ride, you're constantly trying to keep the group speed; frequently this means applying brakes and pedalling harder in equal measures.

One of the things I found so much easier was dealing with wind.  When I'm by myself I feel like a great big flying brick, constantly trying to fight with the wind.  In a group you are shielded from that.  While we weren't a very strict paceline, we did practice drafting and it made such a difference.

The ride was considered a learning ride (development) as well as a social ride.  So one of the things I got to experience was chatting along the route.  The conversation inevitably rolled around cycling; what gear people had got or were getting, races and rides they had done, fun places to go for a ride, and so on.

It just so happened this particular group was a little chaotic and the front half of the group got separated from the back half of the group.  I was in the front half and we looped around county roads looking for the rest of the group.  Eventually we had to get back to town; it was getting dark and it seems like I was the only person who had a bike that was legal to ride at night.  We got back into town around sunset.  The intended route was going to be 35 km but we ended up doing 55 km.

The club has many rides during the week but they're a much faster paceline and a more organized group.  I will need more development rides under my belt before I'm ready for those.  But I've already made up my mind, I'll be joining the club.  Looking forward to tomorrow's development ride!

Winter Success

My Winter Plans

Despite a few late snow falls, I think it's safe to say that winter is behind us (us as in people living in my area, at any rate).  With that in mind I thought I'd reflect a bit on the success I had with my winter plans.

Originally I had several options:

• Get a trainer and join a local class.
• Try out outdoor winter cycling with studded tires.
• Get rollers to ride at home.
• Use the recumbent stationary bike I had at home.

Well the first two options were wildly successful.  I can't say the latter two were terrible in any way.  But the indoor class and the winter cycling outside literally filled my fitness schedule and kept me engaged throughout.

Indoor Cycling

The class was the first time I exercised in a more social setting.  I'm more of a loner when it comes to hardcore exercise.  But I definitely enjoyed working out with others.  For one thing biking on a trainer is dull and being exposed to other people's taste of music and friendly banter made the time fly.  When the workouts became unbearable, seeing other people's "pain faces" gives you this sense that you're all in it together and can all pull through.  Giving up also meant doing the "walk of shame" past everyone, where you'd be sniped at by mild ribbing.  A few times I stayed in the saddle just to avoid that walk!

I found that the class also kept me pushing myself further.  By testing myself and monitoring the data at hand (speed, cadence, heart rate and simulated power) I learned just how hard I could push myself.  Then by testing at regular intervals I could see just how much further I could push myself.  A higher heart rate became easier to maintain and specific exertions would bring up my heart rate less.  Each test would set the bar higher.

Before this class I was surprisingly ignorant about breathing.  Normally with big exertions I would be gasping for breath and I'd be using my effort to try to suck in as much air as possible.  A lot of that effort is wasted especially if your arms are close to your chest.  Instead I learned to concentrate my effort on expelling air through my lungs using my diaphragm and let the air flow in naturally.  This worked well in positions like the drops where your arms are right up against your chest.

Speaking of positions, I really learned better positioning and form.  I learned to relax my upper body as much as possible, saving all the energy for my legs spinning.  I learned proper pedalling techniques that kept my energy expenditure efficient.  I got much more comfortable with going in the drop position.  Prior to this class, standing on my pedals for more than 20 seconds made my legs want to buckle.  Now it is an effort I can easily sustain.  Last but not least, I learned how to plant my ass properly in the seat with my seat bones anchored on the wings of the saddle.  Great if you want to avoid back pain and saddle sores!

Winter Cycling

Cycling in the winter is fraught with challenges.  Snow storms can reduce visibility to nothing.  Snow and ice can result in treacherous road conditions.  Obviously you have to stay warm but there is also the not-so-obvious challenge of staying cool enough.  Keeping your water or other beverages at a fluid state can be difficult.  Sometimes food got too cold to eat -- trust me, biting into a frozen Cliff bar sucks!

As I've mentioned before, my choice of bike was a mountain bike using Ice Spiker Pro studded and knobbed tires.  This particular combination did pretty well in the winter time.  It really excelled in any sort of icy conditions, whether that was freezing rain, compacted snow on roads or on lake ice.  I wasn't able to navigate in deeper snow.  Most of the time I had to avoid snowmobile trails outright.  A fat bike would have really excelled in those conditions.  I'm hoping next year to have a fat bike for snow and an ice bike for lake riding.

I learned a lot about clothing.  Layering, what worked well, what to avoid.  I took detailed notes on it all.  I now have an arsenal of clothing combinations for any weather condition Ontario can throw at me.

I feel like I developed twitch reflexes when it comes to balance and control.  Sometimes riding conditions would be so treacherous and slippery, the back tire would slide out to the side and the rest of it would go the other way.  I got used to treating my bike like it was a bucking bronco.  Even with winter gone, I'm still very sure footed and ready for surprises.

I had the best mountain biking experience of my life on a local lake.  Circling around fishing huts, terrain that was constantly varied due to blowing snow, sneaky surprises such as old fishing holes.  Not to mention the ice making a loud CRR-RACK that usually made my heart skip a beat!  I don't know if was just a great challenge or the adrenaline junkie aspect of it, but I loved this so much..  I can't wait to get out there again.

I learned to always be prepared.  In the summer, a flat tire is an inconvenience.  In the winter, a dead mobile phone combined with a flat tire in a remote area could mean frostbite in the best case.  I got a CO2 inflater pump to make sure I never froze while pumping up a tire by hand.  I carried an extra cell phone for emergencies and USB batteries to go with it.  I made sure to keep my phones warm and functional, sealed in zip-lock bags.  As usual, I carried spare tubes and a patch kit.  Whenever I was on the lake, I brought ice spikes in case I broke through the ice.  I kept up several strategies to keep my fluids and food warm enough to consume.

Winter taught me to respect wind a lot more.  In the summer, headwinds can slow your speed.  In the winter, your speed is slowed and you get cold a lot faster.  Blowing snow and ice particles make goggles essential.  And as I discovered, it really assists in forming beardcicles!

Conclusion

I picked out several winter options because I was worried I would dislike them and give up.  I figured I would at least be able to bear with one of the options.  It was a complete surprise that I would have such a good time with both activities.

Don't get me wrong, I intend to thoroughly enjoy riding my bike in spring/summer/fall conditions.  But when the days get shorter and the air gets colder, I'll still be cycling and having a great time.

March Hiatus

In March (and a good chunk of February) I had a forced hiatus from this blog and cycling in general.  Well, from blogging, cycling, walking, sitting, standing and most positions while lying down.  I managed to injure my back and haven't been doing much of anything.

But as the song goes, I'm back in the saddle again!  My back is in great shape.  Well, good shape... no I'm lying, it's still so-so.  But it's good enough to sit in front of a computer and it's good enough to get back on my bike.

Review: Trainer Road

A structured workout from Trainer Road.
Yellow is power, red is heart rate, white is cadence.

I decided to kick my indoor cycling up a notch and use Trainer Road.  It's cycling software designed for use on an indoor trainer.  It advertises 800+ structured workouts, 40+ workout plans and live feedback from your sensors.  I had followed along with others using Trainer Road and figured I'd give it a shot.  Since they offer a money-back guarantee for the first 30 days, trying it out was a risk-free endeavor.

Trainer Road supports sensor data from both Bluetooth and ANT+ and supports Windows, Mac OSX and iOS (iPhone / iPad) for platforms.  You can watch things like Netflix while it overlays the information on your screen or you can sync it to workout videos like the Sufferfest.  You can create your own custom workout.  The program supports teams and you can set your team to have access to its own private workout.  It works on a subscription based model where you pay $10 per month (lower rates for yearly of course).

Setup

I started setting up my Windows PC, which I thought would be a perfect fit for my configuration.  All my sensors are Bluetooth 4 and my laptop has native Bluetooth 4 support.  Unfortunately Trainer Road only supports a specific Bluetooth dongle and cannot make use of native Bluetooth 4 support on a PC.  While it's a cheap fix (the dongle costs $20) I was annoyed.  I also didn't feel like ordering a $20 dongle just to try out the software.

Most of my portable devices are Android based, which Trainer Road does not support.  Fortunately Goldilocks has an iOS device, an iPad mini, which I could steal liberate borrow for my workouts.  Trainer Road works just fine with native Bluetooth 4 on the iPad Mini.

Setting up the application was pretty painless.  It paired seamlessly with my Polar H7 heart rate monitor as well as my Wahoo Blue SC speed/cadence sensor.  

In most of the workouts there is instructional information, Sometimes it is giving specifics about the workout, like what your cadence should be or information on the next interval coming up.  It will also encourage you to do things like go in the drops (or use your aerobars if you have them).  One of the things I really like is the comments on form -- tips on relaxing your upper body to conserve energy and how you should be positioned on the saddle.

The other cool thing about this software is Virtual Power.  In order to see your power output you normally would require a power meter.  But power meters are pretty expensive.  Trainer Road can emulate one if it knows what kind of trainer you have.  Using the power curve information from your trainer and your speed, it can estimate what your power is.  My trainer was in the list; it also took into account what my resistance was set to.

How It Works
The actual work out consists of a profile coloured in blue.  Your sensors generate several lines representing power (yellow), heart rate (red) and cadence (white).  The data is also in numerical format on top of the screen.  The general idea is you are trying to keep the yellow line outside of the blue profile; it's also represented numerically as "Target Power".

The 8 Minute Test

To get started, you want to find out your Functional Threshold Power.  Trainer Road provides a couple of tests to do this, the 20 minute test and the 8 minute test.  I can't really speak about the 20 minute test as I've never tried it, so I'll stick to the 8 minute test.

The test consists of a warm up with 2 fast spinning efforts to get your legs going.  After some easy spinning there is an 8 minute effort, followed by 8 minutes of easy spinning, then another 8 minute effort, then more easy spinning and you are done.

The idea behind the 2 8 minute efforts is to go hard but stay consistent.  You need to hold yourself back enough to last the entire 8 minute interval, but you don't want to feel like there is "gas left in the tank" so to speak.  You want it to be a pretty steady effort, not jumping all over like crazy.  Don't worry about having enough strength left to do the second interval, the recovery period in between will leave you refreshed enough to tackle the second one.

Upon completion the software will calculate your FTP based on both efforts.  With this number it will set each workout with your power numbers in mind.  Each time you do better on this test, the software will push you harder on subsequent workouts.

Problems with Virtual Power

I was looking forward to training with power instead of heart rate.  Heart rate takes up to 2 minutes to respond to your effort, whereas power is instantaneous.  Fatigue and other factors play a role in your heart rate, whereas power is always the same.  Of course, there are things heart rate is better for.  It helps keep your intensity in check, making sure you don't push yourself beyond your limits.  Fortunately Trainer Road also keeps track of your heart rate so you can have your cake and eat it too.

To beat the boredom of working on a trainer, I indoor cycle in a group with others.  Many of us were using Trainer Road so we sync'd our start together and performed the 8 minute test.  At the end we started talking about the results we had.  When I gave my number there was a lot of jaw dropping, eyes widening and people saying, "That can't be right."  My virtual power numbers were reading like a pro athlete.

I got in touch with Trainer Road Support to see what the problem was.  We went back and forth in email many times, each time with different ways to make sure my trainer was set up correctly.  We did everything from ensuring every setting was correct, to making sure the wheel was solidly connected to the trainer, even silly things like making sure I had only one magnet.  I took pictures and sent video of my configuration.  Eventually we did track down a problem with my tube; my tests after that were lower but still too high.

After three weeks of emailing back and forth and several 8 minute tests later, we'd pretty much gone through everything we could and my virtual power was still extremely high.  They gave me a free month due to the length of time I ate up doing everything.  I thanked them for their help and released them from assisting further.  After all, they had been thorough.  They couldn't have made any money off me either, from the amount of time support spent on my problem.

So in the meantime, if I want accurate power numbers I'll have to keep pining for a power meter.  I would love to get access to one briefly, just so I can see how the numbers compare.

Final thoughts
Despite my problems with virtual power, I would definitely recommend it.  Even if those numbers are wrong; as long as they are consistently wrong I will still progress with my workouts.  From the experience I also know that support will try very hard to help when things go wrong.

This is me with my old coach.
Trainer Road put her out of a job.
At least for the winter. :D

That being said, I wouldn't recommend Trainer Road if you are looking for a cheap replacement for a power meter.  I would recommend it as a great software to really push you and get results.

As for me, I plan on keeping my subscription going until it's warm enough to ride outside.  I'm happy with the progress.  If the numbers were closer I'd probably keep the subscription going all year.

Shred Some Lake!

The lake has been on my mind a lot. I have been eager to re-visit it and get a proper ride in.  Last time I was worried because I didn't have any safety gear, nor would I know what to do with it if I did.

My first step was getting educated on what to do.  So after a quick browse through Youtube, I found a great video featuring Dr Gordon Giesbrecht.  Dr Giesbrecht (aka Doctor Popsicle) is a professor at the University of Manitoba with a PhD in physiology. He has extensive experience with cold physiology.  Click here to check out his web site.  Check out the YouTube video below for tips on how to survive falling through the ice.

My next step was safety gear.  I got myself a set of ice safety picks at Canadian Tire.  Also known as ice safety claws and ice rescue picks, this tool can be used to perform a self-rescue after falling through the ice.  In the small cylinder is something that resembles a sharp nail.  The idea is you kick your feet and use these to pull yourself out.  They are left draped around your neck and sit inside your sleeves, so they are always close to your hands.

Normally I am eager to try out new gear.  That being said I hope I don't get the opportunity to use these ice safety picks!

Checking out my weather app told me there would be a dusting of snow a few centimeters deep.  The temperature would be -14C and wind chill would make it feel like -24C.  At that temperature I knew I'd be fine with a base layer (winter cycling jersey, thermal tights, knee warmers, cycling liner, thin toque, wool socks).  I added in one piece of mid-layer (merino wool socks) and one layer of shell (red rain coat).  I stowed my sunglasses and opted for my goggles instead.

The other modification I decided to play with was a thermos.  I have a few but they don't quite fit in a bottle cage.  After a slight modification of some rubbery material held on with some rubber bands, I had a thermos that would fit well.  The particular thermos I was trying out was a Tim Horton's coffee thermos, so I filled it with some fresh coffee.

In the other bottle cage I stowed a room temperature energy drink.  I wanted to make sure I was well prepared regardless of circumstance.

The beginning of my ride was marred with a near accident.  There was a car parked in the shoulder, a pickup truck passing me on the left and another car coming towards us.  Instead of slowing down and/or proceeding cautiously, Mr Pickup Truck just  blasts through full tilt.  Complementary video clip below:

So I proceeded over to the lake and found terrain similar to last time.  There was packed snow, packing snow, drifts of powder snow, ice and crusted snow, both supportable and breakable.  It was difficult to tell the difference between each.  I was surprised at how often my rear wheel would kick out to the side while my front wheel stayed straight.  In other words, I was having a blast!

I decided to give my thermos a try.  The good news is, my coffee was still very hot.  The bad news, the mechanism which made it easy to pour had frozen open.  In other words, I would have to drink my whole thermos of coffee in one go.  I'll be honest, at the time it was not a hard sell!

While enjoying my hot beverage a pickup truck passed by.  The passenger gave me a big grin and a thumbs up.  It warmed my heart more than the coffee ever could.

I wish I could say the same about my energy drink.  I was used to getting about an hour out of a bottle before it would start freezing up.  The first few times I drank from it, things seemed fine.  But the wind chill in an open area really accelerated the freeze.  It wasn't long before my energy drink became energy slush.  Normally slushy drinks are awesome, but they are detrimental to staying warm.

This was one of the funnest rides I had all winter.  You wouldn't think it would be challenging to ride on a mostly-flat lake.  It's actually quite the contrary! Because the lake is so open, all the snow is at the mercy of the wind.  There are finger and pillow drifts everywhere.  It's difficult to tell a snow drift that has become hard to one that is powder fresh.  Sometimes vehicle tracks will show you the way, other times they just led you into a fresh powdery trap.  You had to keep alert and be ready for anything.

I made some time lapse footage of my experience below.  Enjoy!